This is Arik Ze'evi, who just won the bronze in judo for Israel. Do we know what his race is exactly? Who cares. Israelis have risked their lives to bring Ethiopian Jews, Yemenite Jews and others to Israel. It was never about color.
Posted on 08/19/2004 7:11:00 PM PDT by missyme
A team of senior Israeli rabbis is due to rule soon on whether thousands of Indians who say they are members of one of the lost tribes of Israel can settle there.
Only 5,000 of the Benei Menashes have converted to Judaism Shlomo Amar recently led a delegation of rabbis to the north-eastern Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram where members of the Benei Menashe tribe live and practise Judaism.
At the Beith-el Synagogue in the Manipur capital, Imphal, nine men wearing knitted skull caps read silently from the Old Testament.
Four others stand on a wooden platform in the centre of the room as a young man reads from the holy book under the supervision of an elderly priest.
These people claim to be one of the lost tribes of Israel.
Recent discovery
Tongkhohao Aviel Hangshing is the leader of the Benei Menashes in Imphal.
We found that the stories, the customs and practices of the Israeli people were very similar to ours
Tongkhohao Aviel Hangshing "We are Benei Menashe, because we belong to the Menashe tribe," he says.
"Menashe is the son of Joseph, who was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. So we are the lost tribe of Israel."
Mr Hangshing says for thousands of years they did not know they were lost.
"We found out only 27 years ago," he says.
"When the Bible was translated into our language, in 1970s, we studied it.
"And we found that the stories, the customs and practices of the Israeli people were very similar to ours. So we thought that we must be one of the lost tribes."
Saturdays are observed by Jews the world over as the Sabbath, the day of rest, and the members of the Benei Menashe community meet for morning prayers at the synagogue in Imphal.
A lamb-skin scroll of the Torah, is unrolled and then rolled up again as each reader finishes his part.
Hope
There are more than 300,000 Benei Menashes in Manipur but most of them follow Christianity.
Only about 5,000 have converted to Judaism, most of them during the 1970s.
Mr Hangshing says although India has treated them quite well, they do not consider it their home.
Lucy Vaiphei (right) is hoping to join her family in Israel The recent visit by a delegation of rabbis from Israel has given new hope to the members of this community.
Caleb, a 24-year-old college student, wants to go to Israel because he says it is the land of his forefathers.
Amram is studying to be a lawyer. He says Israel is the promised land, for him and the others too.
"In Israel it will be easier for us to practise our religion."
In a chamber partitioned from the main prayer hall, about a dozen women join in the Sabbath prayers.
Lucy Vaiphei is the caretaker of the synagogue.
Her parents and six siblings have emigrated to Israel in the last few years and she is now looking forward to making the move herself.
Michael Freund, director of Amishav - an organisation that helps Jews move to Israel - says he firmly believes that Menashe is one of the lost tribes of Israel.
"We have brought over 800 of them to Israel," he says, "and the remaining people also want to emigrate".
Mr Freund says that last year the new Israeli interior minister, Avraham Poraz, suddenly declared his opposition to bringing the Benei Menashes into Israel.
"But I'm confident that if the chief rabbi issues a ruling saying that the Benei Menashes are indeed descendents of the Jewish people and should be allowed back home, then he will have no choice but to let them in."
So while the rabbis in Israel take a decision on whether or not to grant the right to emigrate to Israel to the Benei Menashes, this community here is waiting with bated breath - and praying.
Messianic Bible Project for Israel...holy F**k! Leave 'em Jews be....
well...I for one feel I owe ol Noah a debt of gratitude.
This is Arik Ze'evi, who just won the bronze in judo for Israel. Do we know what his race is exactly? Who cares. Israelis have risked their lives to bring Ethiopian Jews, Yemenite Jews and others to Israel. It was never about color.
i'm going to have to google that dear.
LOL
That's just a rumour, which, much like the Khazar rumor, has been debunked by science.
I'm with you my friend. But, after a few days...come back to this thread and read it...you'll laugh your ass off.
Ainu - caucasoid people in Japan and eastern Russia, 1819, from Ainu, lit. "man."
And WHEN have I EVER been wrong? You won't take my word? Fine.......go Google;have fun. :-)
thank you for laughing.....I was dying out here!
Israel had a number of sons:
1Chronicles 2:1 These [are] the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun,
[2] Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
And these sons bore families which grew into large tribes, now known as the tribes of israel. Joseph had two sons which in Genesis 48:5 Israel adopted as his own:
"And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, [are] mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine."
The teaching is that when Manasseh returns, all the tribes will then follow and The priests along with them. You tie this to the prophecies in Revelation and the current happenstance with regard to the temple efforts. Israel has been preparing for sometime for the rebuilding of the temple. The only thing really missing at this point is the building itself and a ritually pure caste of priests which will return with the tribes. And that caste exists in Africa where they settled after the destruction of the first temple and they have led a life keeping themselves for the eventuality of the rebuilding of the temple in the latter times. This is Bible prophecy bubbling to a head.
I wouldn't say to get too excited about this cause it will happen in God's time; but, it is nonetheless in the works.
He is white and I plan on going to Israel for a visit..
I am not being sarcastic when I mention this but the Israeli Goverment is All White I see no other races in powers of government...
i just did not have any idea what the aniu were...none...never ever heard that term before.
that is astounding....caucasoids in Japan before even the Japanese....where did they come from?
giant leap...maybe the Tarim Basin...and maybe we didn't all pop out of the same place but rather in differing evolvements.
off we go into things that should not ever be discussed territory....and it's been such a friendly thread.
I will NEVER claim to know something,when I don't and I happily admit to not knowing what I don't know.
It's presence among Ashkenazi Jews is partially due to the founders effect, and -- I think -- partially due to its granting of immunity to the Black Plague.
The founders' effect is this: in any group of people, just by random chance, certain traits will be more common than in the general population. For example, in a classroom of 20 kids, it's possible that say 6 of them have red hair (30%), even though only say 3% of the general population has red hair. Now, if those kids are stranded on an island and only breed amongst themselves, then 30% of their descendants will have red hair -- despite it's rarity in the general population.
So, let's say that 2-3% of the original founding population of the Ashkenazim carried one copy of the Tay-Sachs gene, just by random chance. Since you need two copies of the gene to cause Tay-Sachs, exponentially more Jews will get Tay-Sachs than in a population where no one carries the gene.
Let's then say that carrying one copy means that you don't get the Black Plague, which kills 1/3 of Europe several times. The Black Plague kills large numbers of people who don't have the gene, meaning that the % of people who carry the gene -- and their descendants -- increases. Since the Black Plague doesn't hit the Sephardi world, they aren't affected by this population loss, and so the % of people carrying the Tay-Sachs gene doesn't increase.
There you have it.
Always happy to lend a helping hand....errrr...laugh. LOL
Not to be a pain-in-the-ass...but what and who is "white?" Okay, Anglo-Saxons are white. That's a given...are Jews "white?" Please let me know because it's going to freak my Jewish grandmother out.
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